One of the women charged in Tennessee in connection with the death of a 6-year-old girl who was left alone in a daycare van for hours admitted she did not perform a required check of the vehicle because “she was hot,” authorities say.
Tametria Norry, 49, faces charges of aggravated child abuse, criminally negligent homicide, and destroying or tampering with government records in connection with the death of Winter Jones.
Sabrina Powe, 43, and Amilya Hardin, 21, face the same charges, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
On Aug. 13, Winter arrived at Kid University in Cordova, Tennessee, located just east of Memphis. The next step required Norry, the daycare’s driver, to transport her to Macon-Hall Elementary School in Cordova.
Norry drove to the school but incorrectly logged Winter as having been dropped off, according to a Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) report obtained by local NBC affiliate WMC. In reality, the girl,who was nonverbal and had autism,never exited the van, the report stated.
Instead of entering the school, Winter remained alone in the van as it returned to the daycare and sat in the sun. Outdoor temperatures reached at least 97 degrees that day.
Daycare staff discovered Winter inside the van around 2:30 p.m. that afternoon. Emergency personnel responded, and the girl was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities questioned Norry, and she allegedly admitted she failed to check the van to confirm all children had exited because “she was hot.” The other defendants similarly acknowledged they did not inspect the van, despite signing a log confirming a walk-through had occurred, per WMC.
The women were arrested and incarcerated, and each eventually posted a $50,000 bond before being released. They are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 30.
Winter’s family is also pursuing civil litigation, according to reports.
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